


I Can Hear Your Pulse Racing From Here (Don't Pin It All On Me)

by VolxdoSioda



Series: Kingmaker, Kingbreaker [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Flirting, M/M, ghost!Ardyn, when The Prophecy fucks up your happily ever after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 13:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15864321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolxdoSioda/pseuds/VolxdoSioda
Summary: In hindsight, challenging Ardyn to a pissing contest of his own making wasa very bad idea.(Noctis, and the trials of leadership while being followed around by the cantankerous ghost of his enemy. Who apparently has a thing for him now. Who would have guessed?)





	I Can Hear Your Pulse Racing From Here (Don't Pin It All On Me)

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, I would like to remind everyone present I haven't played the game, and outside of knowing a few characters from some cutscenes, I have not the foggiest idea what I'm doing. Still having fun. But please leave your expectations at the door.

In hindsight, challenging Ardyn to a pissing contest of his own devising is a terrible, no-good, very bad idea. Noctis hates himself for even entertaining the thought, even if the results of said proverbial pissing contest were very pretty at the time, and he was glad to have shut Ardyn up for five seconds.

 

So of course that meant Ardyn had to go and  _ up the ante,  _ as one did when aggressively flirting with one’s killer-slash-king-slash-mortal-enemy. 

 

“--requesting our help down the northern beaches. The fiend population is a bit high this year, and their resources are already stretched laboriously thin--”

 

Noctis is concentrating. Very, very hard, on the paper in front of him. He’s not looking at the mop of red hair currently laying over his shoulder, he’s not paying attention to the phantom arms wrapped around him in a mocking version of a lover’s embrace, and he’s certainly not paying the  _ slightest hint  _ of attention to the fact that he can smell Ardyn Izunia’s cologne and feel of the warmth of him sprawled all over his lap as the man laps aggressively at his pulse with a tongue  _ he should not be able to feel dragging across his throat. _

 

“What is your opinion, Majesty?”

 

“Send the aid they request. We’re doing well right now; we can afford to let some of our hunters wander that direction if it suits them. Put the Marks up in the square, and I’ll sign the rewards off.”

 

“Yes, sire.” Notes are scribbled, and in the silence Noctis can hear Ardyn’s breath in his own lungs, feel it when the man slips a discreet hand up his shirt, scarred fingers tracing his stomach hairs. 

 

His shirt doesn’t so much as twitch.

 

**_“Problem, little lord?”_ ** Ardyn hisses in his ear, fingers tracing his flesh. By the Six, is he ever in trouble if anyone ever finds out about this.  **_“If you want something, I’m afraid you’ll have to put that pretty little voice of yours to use.”_ **

 

That’s not going to happen, because again, for one Ardyn is already  _ dead,  _ and two, because Ardyn is already dead, these are just pointless mind games he’s playing. There’s nothing he can do except tease, and Noctis can survive that. Has survived that before, when Ardyn was flesh and substance and Noctis maybe occasionally thought about biting him when the man swanned a little too close. 

 

Ardyn takes his silence badly.  **_“I warned you I don’t like being ignored, Noctis. It seems I’ll have to reinforce that message.”_ **

 

And his hand drops  _ down  _ into Noctis’ pants and  _ holy shit he can feel Ardyn’s hand on his dick.  _

 

Noctis’ leg jerks up, knee slamming into the underside of the table. He barely manages to keep his face composed.

 

“Majesty?” Someone asks. He’s not sure who, he’s a bit busy trying not to drown under the realization that Ardyn is a ghost but he’s a ghost with a touch that Noctis can feel, and absolutely no shame or qualms about putting it to use. 

 

“Muscle spasm,” he lies. “Apologies, gentlemen.”

 

Ardyn sets teeth to his shoulder, and very  _ delicately  _ grinds them down. Noctis stares at the chandelier lights until he’s seeing spots, and thinks of every nasty thought that’s ever crossed his mind. Luna cheating on him. His dad having an orgy. Ignis dying, Gladio dying, Prompto dying.

 

Ardyn makes a disappointed noise when Noctis’ cock stays mercifully flaccid, even as little sparks of pleasure dance up in spine in a slow, sensuous burn.  **_“You’re no fun, Noct.”_ **

 

No, no he is not. But he’ll be damned if Ardyn destroys him.  _ Damned,  _ he says.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

 

It gets worse. Much, much worse. By the end of the first week, Noctis wants to know his father’s secret for keeping a straight face through so much over the years.

 

Because Ardyn is absolutely  _ terrible,  _ and makes sure not to get Noctis used to the sensation of rough skin passing against his body. He might go whole days unmolested, and then jerk awake in the dead of night as orgasm hits him like a freight train. He can never stop his reaction when that happens, the pleasure of someone else’s weight on him - even if it's not a  _ tangible  _ weight - dragging all his secrets out.

 

Ardyn always looks far too smug in the low gleam of the moon, eyes burning and mouth ticked upwards to bear his teeth. Noctis shoves him away as soon as he’s able to, but it’s never fast enough. And his body always feels more sensitive after, so even if his dick doesn’t get hard and his nipples don’t pebble when Ardyn plops himself down in Noctis’ lap during the meetings, his body still shivers with the memory.

 

Maybe if he’d taken lovers on the road, or at least had a few rounds of sex his body might not end up so terribly receptive to the idea of Ardyn using him the way he wants. But the fact is he barely even has time to touch himself  _ now,  _ and let alone back when his kingdom was under threat. He’s as virginal as they come, and Ardyn knows it. His body is eager for touch, and Ardyn is clearly eager to drive him around the bend, while Noctis is only eager to sleep and try to keep his kingdom together for one more day. 

 

**_“You could have had all this if you’d just been a good boy, Noctis,”_ ** Ardyn murmurs, tracing idle lines down his back after Noctis is awoken yet again by an orgasm that seems to yank every last bit of air from his lungs.  **_“I would have given you_ ** _ everything.” _

 

“Liar,” Noctis rasps back, panting. He forces jittery muscles to push him up so he can change  _ again,  _ and get his soiled clothing into the hamper. “You’d have played me like a fiddle, and then left me tied up to beg until you felt I  _ deserved  _ it, you bastard.”

 

Ardyn doesn’t even try to cover up the truth. He just laughs, low and mean, and vanishes like the asshole he is. 

 

Noctis climbs back into bed and tries to fall asleep; he has more meetings in the morning and a tour of Insomnia to make, people to help and decisions to put into action. But all he can think of is how cold the other side of the bed feels, the warm thrum of his body a sharp contrast. 

 

By the time sleep finds him again, morning has arrived, and he’s awoken by Ignis shaking his shoulder. “Come along then, time to get up.”

 

And so with a sigh, Noctis does.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

Insomnia has begun to rebuild in the aftermath of Ardyn’s chaos, and while she’s not quite back to what she was, her people are still strong, and they’re cheerful about their survival. They’re grateful to see Noctis on the streets, especially when he finally reaches the area where fiends have been plaguing them. 

 

“Noct, do you want--?” Ignis starts to ask. Noctis shakes his head.

 

“No,” he says, shucking his jacket. “Let me do it. This is my mess.”

 

Nobody save his retinue is expecting this; a few people try to dissuade him, and even a couple of his own guards try to stop him going in, right until he fixes them with a steely look and says, “No. This was because of me. I’m going to fix it.”

 

“Let him do it,” Gladio says. “He’s strong enough to survive whatever those beasts can throw at him. And if push comes to shove, we’ve got our weapons. We can back him up.”

 

It says a lot, coming from his Shield. Noctis nods gratefully to him, and then steps past the crumbled bits of house and stone into the remnants of what looks like an electricity plant.

 

The fiends are plentiful, and Noctis soon understands why people have been having such trouble. Most of the ones in the area are Elementals - and those things are a bitch and a half to put and keep down unless magic is used.

 

**_“Finding new ways to get yourself killed in my absence? I’m flattered, Noctis.”_ ** Ardyn of course, has to put his two gil in. He walks behind Noctis, watching as he carefully strikes the Elementals with their opposing magic from a distance. So long as he stays out of immediate area, they shouldn’t come looking for him.  **_“Tackling petty problems like a true King. Once upon a time, even getting out of bed was too much trouble for you.”_ **

 

“Shut up,” he grunts as a Firaja finds its target, and the Elemental fades into wisps of cold air before his eyes. “If I wanted the running commentary, I’d have left you alive.”

 

**_“Oh, well now doesn’t that sting. I should have known you only wanted me for my wit. Were my good looks not good enough?”_ ** Ardyn flutters his eyelashes.  **_“Ah, but then again I can’t precisely compare to someone like your Luna, now can I? Girl’s named after a goddess of the moon, after all. And you, her knight in shining armor.”_ **

 

“Did you seriously just make a  _ pun?!” _

 

**_“Why yes, I did. What are you going to do about it, Noctis? Kill me?”_ **

 

He laughs like it’s the best joke he’s ever heard. To a man that’s already spent so much time to lose all his carefully spun plots, it might be. Noctis scowls at him, and then dives to the side as a Thunderaja crashes down where he was just standing with enough force to shatter the ground. 

 

**_“Oh my. It seems the locals aren’t happy to see you. Be a good boy and give them some attention.”_ **

 

“Fuck you!” Noctis yells, before diving into the fray. The crash and bang of spellwork over his head as well as the hoard of monsters running out to greet him is cacophonous, but he still manages to catch Ardyn’s last words.

 

**_“Stubborn boy. What do you think I’ve been trying to_ ** _ do  _ **_these past few weeks?”_ **

 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

 

He comes out of that mess bloodier and crispier than when he went in, which causes a few gasps when he does emerge, but his usuals only sigh at his appearance. But he’s proud of himself - he’s managed to ignore Ardyn’s sarcastic little quips the entire walk back up,  _ and  _ he’s managed to put a heavy dent in those fiend numbers. With any luck, the bastards will stay away until the humans can get the walls back up.

 

“Majesty,” Nyx starts, looking almost physically pained. “Perhaps in the future you’ll let us help.”

 

“Nah,” Noctis brushes the thought off, ignoring the low sound of pain some of his men make as he does. “I had it.”

 

“That singed coat says as much,” Ignis mutters dryly. Louder, “I do believe that will be it for the day. Keep an eye on the area, and notify us if the activity continues. Come along sire, let’s get you cleaned up.”

 

The drive home feels shorter than it was that morning, and Noctis all but collapses into bed as soon as he’s back home.

 

“A moment, Noct. I’ll get you a bath going.” Ignis turns to start the water, and Noctis sighs, closing his eyes for a moment. 

 

“Noct?”

 

**_“Noct?”_ **

 

He opens his eyes to find both  Ignis and Ardyn leaning over him, their profiles practically overlapping. It’s a startling look, one that has him blinking hastily. “Y-yeah?” He’s not sure who he’s answering.

 

Ignis answers. “The bath is ready. Please do your best not to drown in it, though I imagine you’re tired. I’ll have a meal sent up and be ready for you when you get out. Unless you’d rather sleep?”

 

“Sleep actually sounds better. I can eat later. Thanks, Ignis.”

 

“My pleasure. Enjoy your bath, Noctis.”

 

As soon as Ignis is gone, Noctis heads for the bath. “Okay,” he says. “Now what do  _ you  _ want?”

 

**_“Is it so hard to believe I was calling your name out of concern?”_ **

 

“Yeah, actually it is.” He shucks the shirt, sighing at the sight of the sunken bath steaming and ready. “God, today sucked. And you were absolutely no help, you asshat.”

 

Ardyn’s eyebrows raise.  **_“Am I meant to be a help now, Highness? I was under the impression my job was to float in the background and mock you. Mercilessly, if need be.”_ **

 

Noctis grunts, then hisses as a couple of wounds burn with the first touch of the water. “Better a help than a hindrance.”

 

**_“Am I a hindrance though, Noctis? Truly?”_ ** Ardyn circles the bath slowly.  **_“After all, I’ve never aided you, but I’ve never harmed you either. And I could. We both know it. I might be dead, my body gone, but you feel my touch don’t you?”_ **

 

“No.”

 

Ardyn casts him an amused look.  **_“No? Are you so sure of that, Majesty?”_ **

 

Noctis feels his heartbeat pick up as Ardyn approaches. He slides away from the edge, into the center of the bath. “Positive.”

 

Ardyn watches him with gleaming eyes, laughing low and mean. It seems to fill the chamber, echoing through the steam.  **_“Why so nervous? I shan’t_ ** _ hurt  _ **_you. And if it’s privacy that worries you, have no fear. I shall endeavor to keep my eyes averted. Come now, don’t be shy.”_ **

 

“Who’s shy?” Noctis demands. “I just don’t want you touching me.”

 

Ardyn’s head tilts.  **_“But I thought you said you couldn’t feel my touch?”_ **

 

_ Ah crap. I just sank my own battleship, didn’t I? _

 

Ardyn tuts, as if in disappoint.  **_“A King should never lie to his subjects. And_ ** _ never  _ **_to his Chancellor. After all, the bond between us must remain pure, untainted by distrust. How else am I to protect you?”_ **

 

Noctis bares his teeth. “Why the hell would I trust you? You tried to kill me before, and now you’re endeavoring to play mind games with me. You think jerking me off at night nets you brownie points, you sick fuck?”

 

He’s never spoken the truth out loud. Never given any indication that he understands what happens at night. Even now, the words ring out painfully, and he’s reminded of his own powerlessness in that he can’t be aware twenty-four seven. Ardyn gets at least eight hours at his unprotected back each night, and he can’t do anything to stop it.

 

Ardyn’s head tilts a little sharper, and the darkness Noctis has seen in him before, back when he was alive, surfaces.  **_“No, little King. I don’t think it ‘nets me brownie points’. Do you really think this is what that is all about? That I lay hands on you to manipulate?”_ ** He searches Noctis’ face for something, and sneers at whatever he finds.  **_“Truly, even after I’m dead and gone, you still mock me with your ignorance. You have no idea of the power behind the Prophecy between us, do you? What it means, that I still stand here, even after death? That I can touch you so freely, that you can feel me, hear me, see me?”_ **

 

“I think it means you’re a stubborn bastard who doesn’t know when to give up,” Noctis snarls. “All I know is you’re my shadow. I’m your light. One can’t exist without the other, so you’re trapped until I die.”

 

**_“Trapped? Until you die, you say? Oh no, Noctis. I’m neither of those things. But you’re right about me being your shadow.”_ ** He vanishes, and then reappears in the water in front of Noctis. Noctis curses, flinging himself back, only to gasp as Ardyn neatly catches his arm. Even leaning all his weight back, he can’t move. 

 

“Let go of me, damn it!”

 

**_“But if I do that, you’ll smash your pretty little head on that stone shelf behind you. No, I think I’d better keep you_ ** _ close. _ **_”_ ** And he yanks, and Noctis finds himself wrapped in the man’s grip. Just like before, he can feel the man’s skin against his own like he’s alive. Desperate to escape it, he tries to shove back, but there’s no give in Ardyn’s grip.  **_“Now, now, Noctis, you’ll hurt my feelings if you keep this up. I haven’t raised a hand against you since I died. What makes you think I will now?”_ **

 

“Because you’re a trickster, Ardyn. You play  _ games,  _ and you fuck with people’s heads. Don’t act like you don’t.”

 

**_“I never said that. I stand by everything I’ve said and done until now, of that you can be sure. But that doesn’t answer my question. What makes you think I would_ ** _ physically hurt  _ **_you? What gain would come from that?”_ **

 

Noctis pauses in his struggling, the words that want to fall out of his mouth halted in the face of elucidation of Ardyn’s words. His first response is to claim, again,  _ because that’s who you are.  _ But the longer he thinks on it, thinks about what Ardyn is versus him, think about Ardyn would have to stand and lose by hurting him, the less sense it makes. 

 

**_“See? I’m not this nightmare come back to haunt you like you think, Noct.”_ ** The man’s grip on him eases enough to allow a bit of free movement. He still can’t get more than an arm’s length away, but he can at least stop being chest to chest with him now.  **_“Which brings me back to my next point - you don’t understand why I’m here, do you?”_ **

 

“To drive me up a wall and cause me to commit suicide? Why do you do anything you do outside of mind games?” He pauses when he feels Ardyn’s hand come up to cradle the back of his head. 

 

**_“The words, dear boy. They tell you all you need to know, if you’ve an open mind to their interpretation. Come now, you can’t tell me you’ve lived through all you have without gaining the ability to parse out a measly riddle. You regularly read treaties, for crying out loud.”_ **

 

“That’s different,” Noctis scowls, but he grudgingly thinks the words over. 

 

**_“Recite them.”_ **

 

“What?”

 

**_“The words. I find saying things aloud often helps put them into perspective.”_ **

 

Noctis mutters something uncomplimentary, but does as Ardyn asks.  _ “An era of falling stars for the True King/guiding light and pure heart will see the kingdom arise at dawn’s beckoning/treachery and deception carve a path to peace/and True King and Starscourge be bound as one/darkness takes up where light has walked before.” _

 

**_“So, tell me what it means.”_ **

 

“Guiding light and pure heart will see kingdom arise at dawn’ - I keep my nose to the grindstone and we can rebuild. ‘Treachery and deception will carve a path to peace’ pretty much means I’m going to have to get political at some point, if not outright become a liar. Bet you’ll be happy about that. ‘True King and Starscourge’, we both know that line. But ‘an era of falling stars’....”

 

“ **_Celebration, my dear. You’re not quite old enough to know it, but falling stars used to be a sign of someone favored by the Gods. So, you shall be celebrated and revered, and should you do well to lead your people you can rebuild your kingdom. With goodness in mind you use a liar’s tongue and practiced ease to keep your enemies in the dark, and where you walk I will surely follow, for we are bound together.”_ **

 

In Ardyn’s rich tones, the Prophecy sounds… heavier. Noctis swallows. 

 

“Yeah, okay. But that doesn’t explain why you’re… you. Or why I can feel you.”

 

**_“The emphasis,”_ ** Ardyn says.  **_“Is on the ‘darkness takes up where light has walked before’. It has to do with your victory of me. I believe the idiom of today is ‘loser serves winner’. Now, put the two together, and what do you get?”_ **

 

Noctis makes a frustrated noise, racking his brain. “I can see, hear and touch you because I won?”

 

**_“Correct. And?”_ **

 

“Aaaand you’re supposed to be some form of guiding help now?”

 

**_“Not quite. I follow where you lead - meaning I have your back. I see the threats you may or may not have left behind. And I take care of them. Darkness and light, little Noctis. Two sides of the same coin, but created with different ideas in mind.”_ **

 

“How do you know all this?”

 

Ardyn chuckles.  **_“Forget I’m immortal? Or well. Correction: I was immortal. Until you came along. Pesky little thing.”_ ** His tone is almost  _ fond.  _

 

Noctis does his best to ignore it. “So my victory over you grants me an era of peace, and whatever aid you’re willing to provide. I suppose this all ties in to how you haven’t lifted a finger to send me through a wall, or get me out of the messes I make.”

 

**_“Come now, Noct, I can’t give you_ ** _ all  _ **_the answers! You’ll have to figure out where my limits lie for yourself. We’ve all the time in the world to negotiate our new relationship out after all.”_ **

 

“Fuck you,” Noctis mutters again, turning away.

 

He feels a sense of foreboding then, a quicksilver jolt he can’t get a reaction on before Ardyn surges forward behind him, slamming a phantom arm on either side of him, boxing him in against the tile and stone of the tub. Noctis whirls to face him, and his bravery quivers in the face of the black eyes fit to put any daemon to shame watching him. 

 

**_“Careful, little Noctis. You shouldn’t go poking dragons when you don’t know what they’re capable of. Especially given_ ** _ they  _ **_can’t see me. I could do so much to you, and they’d never know.”_ **

 

“Yeah, but that’d be against the rules, wouldn’t it?” Noctis snaps back. “Nobody would put such a heavy prophecy on my back and let you break me, so I’m willing to bet you can’t hurt me.”

 

Ardyn inclines his head with a small smile, and then reaches out and rakes gentle fingers along Noctis’ ribcage.  **_“Smart boy. I can’t cause you pain. But pleasure? That’s a different matter. Pleasure can drive a man to depths he never knew just as much as pain can. And given how long I’ve lived? I could have you under my thumb in a night.”_ **

 

“Haven’t managed it yet,” Noctis shoots back, fighting to keep his voice from quivering with nerves. “And you’ve certainly had plenty of chances.”

 

**_“Perhaps I haven’t decided on what I’m going to do, yet. How I’m going to unmake you.”_ **

 

Noctis jerks his chin up. “Whatever you throw at me, I’ll return back a thousand times over.”

 

Ardyn’s smile then is almost pleased.  **_“Yes, I imagine you will. Foolish, stubborn brat you are. You don’t know how to be anything less than brave anymore, do you?”_ ** He steps back with a shake of his head.  **_“If nothing else, the next few years should be interesting.”_ **

 

“At least until I find a way to exorcise you,” Noctis mutters tartly, and goes about bathing. Ardyn vanishes at some point, leaving him alone to soak in the peace. He gets out when the water goes cold, and wraps himself up for a nap. For once, Ardyn keeps his hands to himself, and so Noctis gets an actual restful sleep. 

 

Ignis wakes him for dinner, and they go over a few more reports. One of which concerns a disturbing lack of funds that should have been allotted for construction.

 

Noctis can feel a headache coming on just from reading the lines on the page. “I know a King isn’t supposed to rely on others, but I don’t suppose you have any advice on how to tackle this, Ignis?”

 

Ignis snorts. “Whoever told you a King is not meant to rely on his subjects is an idiot, quite frankly. A burden shared is a burden halved, and you’re going to be here for a while. But on the matter of that mysterious missing gil - I would suggest popping down there first thing tomorrow morning. Be your charming self, and delicately inquire into the nature of the missing funds. I suspect the only reason the gil went missing is because nobody on that team assumed you’d notice or care if it was brought to your attention. If you were to take notice though, and show you  _ did  _ have an interest in it--”

 

“It might suddenly make an astonishing reappearance?” Noctis asks dryly, folding the paper up.

 

“Quite,” Ignis smiles. “If you would like, I can accompany you down myself. I’ve a bit of business I need to do around that area of town tomorrow anyhow.”

 

“Works for me. Thanks Ignis.”

 

“You are more than welcome, Highness. Now, your father has some concerns of his own he wishes me to voice, given he’s off placating the gentry for at least two more days--”

 

_ Yeah,  _ Noctis thinks as he puts down his fork and listens.  _ At least you got that much right, Ardyn. The future should be interesting. _


End file.
